CS Video: Director Ron Howard Talks Rush

Ever since directing his first movie with 1977’s Grand Theft Auto, Ron Howard was well on his way to make the transition from being one of television’s favorite actors to becoming one of America’s top filmmakers. In the decades that followed, Howard earned the respect of his peers by helming everything from light romantic comedies to serious historical dramas about some of America’s defining moments, effortlessly bouncing behind genres before winning his first two Oscars with 2002’s A Beautiful Mind.

His new movie Rush takes place in the competitive world of Formula 1 racing, and it revolves around the rivalry between two racers–Chris Hemsworth’s James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl’s Niki Lauda–that dominated the Grand Prix season of 1976.

It may be one of Howard’s most ambitious films, partially because it’s also his first movie in 36 years that was financed independently through a number of different production companies, including Exclusive Media, Working Title Films and his and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment.

ComingSoon.net had a chance to talk to Howard on-camera about his latest movie while Howard was in Toronto–not only for Rush but also for the Jay-Z doc he directed, Made in America–and he wasn’t taking it easy because the day after doing interviews, Howard was heading out of town to begin production on his next film In the Heart of the Sea, also starring Hemsworth.

Besides answering a few questions about Rush, Howard also talked about progress on making his next Dan Brown movie, based on his latest bestseller Inferno, telling us, “Inferno’s out, it’s a good novel, it’s fun. We’ve had two great experiences but with all of the Dan Brown movies, we waited until we had a screenplay that in our minds demanded to be made, so that project is being worked on right now.”

Rush opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, September 20, and expands nationwide on September 27. Look for our interviews with Howard’s cast sometime early next week.